This invention relates to a berth arrangement.
In compartments used for sleeping, for example in passenger cabins of ships, it is known to use berths that may be lowered from the ceiling. The passenger accommodation areas of the passenger ship Santa Rosa (nowadays S/S Regent Rainbow) were renewed in 1990 and the ceilings of the cabins were provided with such berths. Typical for this kind of berth structure is that the berth is supported by a holder that is turnably journalled in the ceiling. The berth is moved from a use position to a position retracted into the ceiling, by first turning the berth 90.degree. towards the holder and then turning the holder together with the berth 90.degree. upwards.
The torque exerted by a berth of the kind used in the Santa Rosa as it is turned towards the holder decreases as a function of the angle through which it has been turned, and the torque exerted by the holder and berth combination as it is turned upward increases as a function of the angle through which the combination has been turned. In the Santa Rosa, these movements were facilitated by a wire mechanism. Patent Application FI 942972 (a parallel to U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,735) shows a similar berth mechanism, the movements of which are controlled by means of jacks. Patent publication NL 7415980 shows a similar berth mechanism where the movements are facilitated by means of a balance weight. Several patent publications such as CH 473558 and DE 2143926 show simple berth arrangements, where a berth is foldable out from a fixed wall holder. The movements of the berth are facilitated by pneumatic spring cylinders, but the application of these cylinders is complicated, which underlines the complexity of the problems involved.